ONE OF CENTRAL STREETS OF HATAY MAY BE RENAMED AFTER HRANT DINK
ArmRadio.am
15.02.2007 12:58
Speaker of the organization for tolerance and culture of the Turkish
city of Hatay Zidane Kerek has demanded from the Municipality to
rename the Sara Avenue passing through the center of the city after
the editor-in-chief of the Agos daily Hrant Dink brutally killed by
nationalists in Istanbul on January 19, "Anatolu" agency informs.
10 ACCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH EXPLOSIONS OF MINES AND AMMUNITIONS TOOK PLACE IN NKR IN 2006
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Feb 14 2007
10 accidents connected with the explosions of mines and ammunitions
took place in the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic in 2006.
According to the information Mediamax received at the NKR Government’s
Commission on Mines, 14 people suffered as a result of the incidents,
2 people died.
Last year the NKR Rescue Service specialized subdivision and the
British NGO HALO Trust Karabakh Office rendered harmless 5 166
antipersonnel and 1 847 anti-tank mines, while 14 635 ammunitions
that had not exploded were destroyed.
In 2006 the territory of the total area of over 86, 6 millions square
meters was cleared of mines and ammunitions in the regions of combat
operations, over 24, 3 millions square meters were reconnoitered.
ARMENIAN TELEVISION STATIONS SET ELECTION CAMPAIGN ADS PRICE
Armenpress
Feb 13 2007
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s Public TV channel has
set 80,000 drams ($220) per-minute fee for parliamentary election
campaign ads, up from $120 it charged in the run-up to the 2003
parliamentary elections. This fee is for parties, alliances and
individual contenders.
Under the Armenian law, every party or alliance running for parliament
can air up to 60 minutes of free-of-charge ads on state television
and 120 minutes on state radio during campaigning for the May 12
parliamentary elections.
Private networks will charge even more. Thus Armenia TV will charge
130,000 Drams from parties, alliances and individual contenders. Yerkir
Media has set 100,000 Drams, Armenia 2 TV will charge 108,000
Drams. Kentron TV will also charge 108,000 Drams from parties and
60,000 from candidates running from single-mandate constituencies. ALM
TV will charge 120,000 and 80,000 respectively.
These prices were criticized by leaders of the opposition Ardarutyun
(Justice) alliance and the National Unity Party, who claimed that high
prices is deliberate government effort to keep the opposition away
from electronic media. The National Unity leader Artashes Geghamian
said his party will not use the paid time to promote its campaign.
KARNIG DABANIAN: ENGINEER WAS INVENTIVE IN GLASSBLOWING
by Joe Rossiter, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press (Michigan)
February 10, 2007 Saturday
Feb. 10–A fascination with creative design and a keen eye for beauty
were hallmarks of Karnig Dabanian.
A former mechanical engineer turned glass artist, Mr. Dabanian died
Thursday of renal failure at Oakwood Southshore Hospital in Trenton.
He was 84 and lived in Brownstown Township.
"He was a gifted inventor and talented artisan," his wife of 40 years,
Judith Dabanian, said. "The craftsmanship and imagination he displayed
in his artwork was pleasing to both the sight and touch."
Mr. Dabanian developed an eye for glass art during a trip to England.
After taking courses in glassblowing, he went into business full time
Together with a partner and two art students, he opened a private
hot glass studio in an abandoned poultry shop along Cass Avenue in
Detroit and named it Poultry Glass.
He crafted decorative glass bowls, vases, paperweights and other
designs. Born in Highland Park, Mr. Dabanian graduated from Detroit’s
Cooley High School in 1940 and served in the Army Air Forces during
World War II. After his discharge in 1945, he attended what was then
Wayne University and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering
in 1948.
During his career, Mr. Dabanian worked with several companies,
including General Motors Corp. and Curtiss Wright in Utica before
becoming chief design engineer at Cox Instrument Co. in Detroit in the
’60s until his retirement in 1978.
In addition to his wife, survivors include daughters Lynne
Dabanian, Irene Berenson and Lisa Estensorro; two sisters, and five
grandchildren.
Visitation is today at 10 a.m. followed by funeral services at
11 a.m. in St. John Armenian Church, 22001 Northwestern Highway,
Southfield. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
AFTER DEADLY ’06, JOURNALISTS NEED PROTECTION
By Adam Himmelberger, The Daily Campus; SOURCE: Univ. of Connecticut STORRS, Conn.
The Daily Campus via U-Wire
University Wire
January 25, 2007 Thursday
The recent assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is
another tragic case of violence against the media and the silencing
of journalists who produce controversial work unpopular with certain
groups or governments. Dink’s murder is a somber reminder that the
liberal degree of free speech often taken for granted in America is
not universal. It further highlights the dangers journalists face
around the world, from reporting in hazardous environments to extreme
punitive measures for attempting to uncover the truth.
2006 was the deadliest year for journalists and media workers. The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported "at least 155
murders, assassinations and unexplained deaths." Some were accidental
at the hands of U.S. soldiers, others were politically motivated hits
and still others were committed by gangsters or warring factions,
according to the IFJ report.
The majority of news media deaths have taken place in Iraq, which has
become the deadliest war for journalists and the most dangerous place
to work over the course of American involvement in the region. But
even outside of classifiable conflict zones, there still lies danger
for those seeking to report, convey, uncover or express an idea.
The Turkish-Armenian editor was often the target of prosecution and
threats due to his "iconoclastic journalism, particularly on the
mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century," according to
the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Web site. The Turkish
government does not acknowledge these World War I killings as
genocide, which continues to cause great tension between Turks and
Armenians. Dink’s friend Andrew Finkel said Dink "was in favor of
Turkish and Armenian neighbors being able to look each other in their
face and recognize their past histories," according to CNN.
Dink’s murder is reminiscent of numerous other journalists’ deaths,
including the high profile murder of Russian journalist, Anna
Politkovskaya, in October 2006. Many strongly believe she was murdered
because of her outspoken criticism of the Kremlin and its policies
toward Chechnya. Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
reported Russian officials announced Chechen police might have been
behind Politkovskaya’s murder because she was going to publish an
article about the polices’ alleged involvement in torture. A caveat
at the end of the story reminded this is only one of several theories
behind the murder. Free thinkers and journalists have encountered
hardships in both Russia and Turkey. Article 301 of Turkish law
makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness," a charge many writers in
Turkey have been accused of, including Dink. Intellectuals all over
the world have called for it to be repealed. In Russia, the Kremlin
has drawn harsh criticism from the U.S. and other countries for its
tight control and censorship of the media.
The suppression of free speech, as well as journalistic pursuits,
is not unique to these two countries by any stretch of the imagination.
The Philippines has some of the strictest libel laws in the world,
through which politicians often invoke in order to squash bad press and
punish writers. Mexico has surpassed Columbia has the deadliest country
in the Americas for journalists, a sign of the illegal drug industry
and other criminal activities shifting, or more accurately, expanding
closer to the markets. Even the United States, the quintessential
example of Constitutionally-protected freedom of speech and the press,
is far from perfect.
Needless to say, despite the inherent dangers of reporting or speaking
one’s mind in certain countries, more needs to be done to protect
these courageous individuals whose work is vital to the citizens of
the world. Non-profit, international non-government organizations
such as the CPJ and the IJF, lobby governments to ensure the safety
of journalists, raise money for victim’s families and publicize and
condemn the deaths or censorship of news media workers around the
globe. The United Nations was finally persuaded on Dec. 23, 2006
to issue resolution 1738, condemning attacks against journalists
in conflict situations. The resolution demanded all parties and
states in armed conflict treat journalists as civilians, comply with
international law in protecting journalists and prosecute those who
violate this, according to the U.N.’s Web site.
However, as is the case with international law, there are limitations
to what NGOs and resolutions can accomplish. Sadly, so long as there
are those working to uncover the truth, check the privileged or expose
the ruthless, there will be the privileged, powerful and ruthless
working to kill the story — even if it means killing the writer. And
so long as there is armed conflict, there will be civilian killings,
no matter what international law may say. A more modern way of looking
at the increasing violence against the media across the globe is to
realize many simply do not like what the general media have come to
represent. There is a stigma attached to the general news coverage
of bias, unfairness and propaganda. If groups in some regions of
the world do not want to be written about, or take issue with their
coverage, they may resort to eliminating the source of their concern —
the writer.
In Dink’s case, he used his columns appearing in his newspaper to
write about a tense history between two ethnic groups with the hope
that one day they could peacefully come to terms with the past and
harmoniously exist together as neighbors. For this, he was shot by
someone who disagreed. Even in death however, the work of journalists
and other free-thinkers endures. Their missions must be taken up by
others. If this fails to happen, the stories will die.
TURKISH OFFICIAL FIGURES EXPRESS INTEREST IN IMPROVAL OF
ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS, ARMAN KIRAKOSIAN MENTIONS
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The correspondence between Armenian
President Robert Kocharian and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan having started two years ago became in essence the basis of
current Armenian-Turkish unofficial relations. RA Deputy Foreign
Minister Arman Kirakosian declared this at the February 9 press
conference held by the National Press Club within the framework of
Topical Subject program. He reminded that in 2005 April the Turkish
Prime Minister proposed the Armenian President creating a commission
of historians on study of the events of the beginning of 20th century
in the Ottoman Empire. R. Kocharian responded to this proposal that it
is impossible to lay on historians such a complicated and important
task as normalization of relations between two countries and proposed
creating a bilateral intergovernmental commission. In A. Kirakosian’s
words, Turkey puts forward two preconditions for normalization of
bilateral relations. First, pleading "exclusive sensitiveness of
Turkish public" Turkey strives for clarifying the issues connected
with the events of 1915 and only them starting to cooperate. The
second precondition is settlement of Nagorno Karabakh problem: "Turkey
has repeatedly said that it attaches a great importance to solidarity
with Azerbaijan and will not open the border until the final
settlement of this problem." A. Kirakosian reported that during his
stay in Turkey on the days of mourning events dedicated to the memory
of Hrant Dink he had meetings with Turkish official figures, during
which the latters expressed willingness to improve Armenian-Turkish
relations. Besides, in the Deputy Minister’s words, interest of
Turkish businessmen in opening the border is obvious. A. Kirakosian
declared that the Armenian side has always insisted on opening the
border. "But Turkey continues to keep the border closed. The
Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku project is the continuation of Turkey’s
policy, when the latter together with Azerbaijan decided to bypass
Armenia. The project is the important task of our diplomacy and we are
working at it. We have already achieved foreign states’ refusing to
finance the project."
AMERICAN CONGRESSMEN URGE TO REJECT TURKISH THREATS AGAINST GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Yerevan, February 9. ArmInfo. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg expressed outrage at recent warnings
by the Turkish government that it will take actions threatening
the security of U.S. troops in Iraq should Congress even consider
the Armenian Genocide Resolution, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA). In a letter to House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Tom Lantos Pallone and Knollenberg noted that,
"it is our understanding that senior Turkish government officials have
warned that, in response to Congress even considering this resolution,
they will close supply pipelines for our forces serving in Iraq.
This shameless threat to interfere in U.S. military operations is
absolutely unacceptable and deeply offensive." The Representatives
went on to express dismay at the response of several Administration
officials who, caving in to the Turkish government’s threats, have
urged Members of Congress to oppose even debate on this human rights
measure. "Sadly, the Turkish government is able to maintain its
denial – against all evidence and the tide of international opinion –
in large part due to the State Department’s efforts to silence those
who speak with moral clarity about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
ARAM HAKOBYAN IN A UKRAINIAN CLUB
A1+
[12:22 pm] 07 February, 2007
Best football player 2005 of Armenia Aram Hakobyan has signed a
contract with FC "Ilichevets" from Ukraine.
Hakobyan has been playing in the club from Mariupol for some time after
which the authorities of the club offered him a one-year contract. The
club is currently in the 13th place in the Ukrainian championship. The
team intends to preserve its place in the higher league.
Before leaving for Ukraine Aram Hakobyan played in "Banants"
Yerevan. He scored 25 goals becoming the best striker of the
championship.
LARRY KING CALLS SCREAMERS ‘BRILLIANT. A FILM EVERYONE SHOULD SEE’
ASBAREZ
2/8/2007
LOS ANGELES–Larry King has declared the film "Screamers"–now playing
in select cities nationwide in the US–a must-see. "It’s a brilliant
film," said King. "Everyone should see it." The film features the
Grammy award-winning band System of a Down and exposes the denial
of genocide in the last century, from the Armenian genocide, the
Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda — right up to the genocide
unfolding now in Darfur.
King’s statement follows Monday’s special screening at Harvard’s
Kennedy School of Government, hosted by "Screamers" contributor
Samantha Power, Pulitzer prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell,
America and the Age of Genocide. The School’s Starr auditorium was
packed out by students, System of a Down fans and journalists alike —
as well as a special appearance by Henry Morgenthau III, grandson of
the US Ambassador who was a "screamer" during the Armenian genocide.
"Screamers" is a frontal assault on US foreign policy in the face
of genocide — identifying the hypocrisy of successive Presidents
lip-service to the idea of ‘never again.’Two days after Congressmen saw
a special screening in the Library of Congress, one of the contributors
in the film, Hrant Dink, was brutally murdered in Turkey — for the
very beliefs he expressed in the film.
The film opens in Boston and Chicago February 9, following New York
and Washington. DC openings on January 26 and is supported by Save
Darfur and Jewish WorldWatch.
"With a genocide going on now in Darfur, it’s vital that we send a
message out now to our politicians that we must do everything we can to
stop genocide now," said Carla Garapedian, the director of "Screamers."
PRESS RELEASE
Armenian General Benevolent Union Inc.
Rita Kuyumjian MD
Chairperson
805, Manoogian street
Ville St-Laurent, QC H4N 1Z5
Tel: 514-748-2428
Fax: 514-748-6307
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Montreal Chapter concludes AGBU Centennial Celebrations
on March 11th with a Face Symphonic Orchestra and chorus show casing
estradayin/jazz music of Armenia
Under the Auspices of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian
Patronage of AGBU President Me. Berge Setrakian
Montreal, February 1st, 2007 – It is with pride and joy that Armenian
General Benevolent Union~Rs Montreal Chapter, announces its 8th and final
event celebrating the centennial of our Union. Sixty musicians of Montreal
Symphonique Face Orchestra, under the award winning conductor Theodora
Stathopoulos, and invited guest conductor/composer Konstantin Petrossian of
Providence. The artistic director of this event is Garo Nichanian who
invited renowned singers Yegishe Manucharyan, tenor, Noune Karapetian,
soprano, both from Boston and Robert Margaryan Violin of Montreal. As a
symbol of AGBU vision of unity four of Montreal Armenian community choirs
will participate with 60 choristers, Komitas Choir of ST. Gregory
Illuminator Armenian Cathedral, Knar Choir of Hamazkayin Cultural
Association and Shirag of Bolsahay Cultural Association as well as 40 young
singers of AGBU Alex Manoogian School Choir. The concert will feature
popular music of Armenian composers, orchestrated specially for this concert
by composer Konstantin Petrossian.
This unique and innovative tribute concert is the 8th and the closing event
of series of celebrations in our chapter dedicated to the centennial which
included screening of a film, youth theatre, classical music concert, sports
weekend, theatrical cultural event, Elipekian 3 generations art exhibition
and children~Rs talent show.
Montreal Chapter founded in 1957 to help Armenians from Greece to immigrate
to Canada has become the home for many Armenians fleeing different wars and
hostile countries from many parts of the world. The immigrants found a safe
heaven in this city and started an AGBU Chapter, where two generation of
Armenians grew up imbedded in Armenian values while successfully becoming
Canadian citizens and participating in Canadian life. Montreal Chapter is
proud to announce that it will celebrate Chapters 50th anniversary in
September of 2007.
AGBU Founded in 1906, by a group of farsighted Armenians headed by Boghos
Nubar Pasha, to serve the needy Armenians wherever they were, whatever
beliefs and opinions they embraced, the AGBU motto was and still is the
promotion and the preservation of the Armenian heritage through educational,
humanitarian and cultural programs. A century later AGBU has grown from its
visionary beginnings as a non-political philanthropic organization for the
benefit of all Armenians to become the world~Rs largest Armenian non-profit
organization with an annual budget of $36 million US and programs in all
continents of the world.
For more information please check our website and to
reserve your tickets call AGBU Montreal 514-748-2428 or via email:
[email protected]
AGBU Montreal Chapter
805, Manoogian street
Ville St-Laurent, QC H4N 1Z5
Tel: 514-748-2428
Fax: 514-748-6307
Website:
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